%matplotlib inline
import numpy as np
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import matplotlib.animation as animation
from IPython.display import HTML

# Define constants
ON = 255
OFF = 0
vals = [ON, OFF]

def randomGrid(N):
    """ returns a grid of N x N values """
    return np.random.choice(vals, N*N, p=[0.2, 0.8]).reshape(N, N)

def addGlider(i, j, grid):
    """ adds a glider with top-left cell at (i, j)"""
    glider = np.array([[0, 0, 255],
                       [255, 0, 255],
                       [0, 255, 255]])
    grid[i:i+3, j:j+3] = glider

def update(framenum, img, grid, N):
    # copy grid since we require 8 neighbors for calculation
    # and we go line by line
    newGrid = grid.copy()
    for i in range(N):
        for j in range(N):
            # compute 8-neighbor sum using toroidal boundary conditions
            # x and y wrap around so that the simulation
            # takes place on a toroidal surface
            total = int((grid[i, (j-1)%N] + grid[i, (j+1)%N] +
                         grid[(i-1)%N, j] + grid[(i+1)%N, j] +
                         grid[(i-1)%N, (j-1)%N] + grid[(i-1)%N, (j+1)%N] +
                         grid[(i+1)%N, (j-1)%N] + grid[(i+1)%N, (j+1)%N])/255)
            # apply Conway's rules
            if grid[i, j] == ON:
                if (total < 2) or (total > 3):
                    newGrid[i, j] = OFF
            else:
                if total == 3:
                    newGrid[i, j] = ON
    # update data
    img.set_data(newGrid)
    grid[:] = newGrid[:]
    return img,

Original Python Script

main function

def main():

# command line arguments are in sys.argv[1], sys.argv[2], ...
# sys.argv[0] is the script name and can be ignored
# parse arguments
parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="Runs Conway's Game of Life simulation.")
# add arguments
parser.add_argument('--grid-size', dest='N', required=False)
parser.add_argument('--mov-file', dest='movfile', required=False)
parser.add_argument('--interval', dest='interval', required=False)
parser.add_argument('--glider', action='store_true', required=False)
parser.add_argument('--gosper', action='store_true', required=False)
args = parser.parse_args()

# set grid size
N = 100
if args.N and int(args.N) > 8:
    N = int(args.N)

# set the animation update interval
updateInterval = 50
if args.interval:
    updateInterval = int(args.interval)

# declare grid
grid = np.array([])
# check if "glider" demo flag is specified
if args.glider:
    grid = np.zeros(N*N).reshape(N, N)
    addGlider(1, 1, grid)
else:
    # populate grid with random on/off - more off than on
    grid = randomGrid(N)

# set up the animation
fig, ax = plt.subplots()
img = ax.imshow(grid, interpolation='nearest')
# I changed the number of frames from 10 to 100 in the next line.
ani = animation.FuncAnimation(fig, update, fargs=(img, grid, N, ),
                              frames = 100,
                              interval = updateInterval,
                              save_count = 50)

# number of frames?
# set the output file
# I added the next two lines to get script to work.
Writer = animation.writers['ffmpeg']
writer = Writer(fps=15, metadata=dict(artist='Me'), bitrate=1800)

if args.movfile:
    # The line below is from the book, and seems to be causing file I/O errors
    #ani.save(args.movfile, fps=30, extra_args=['-vcoded', 'libx264'])
# I replaced the line above with the one below to get the script to work.
    ani.save(args.movfile, writer=writer)
plt.show()

# Set Grid Size (N)
N = 100

# Set Update Interval (updateInterval)
updateInterval = 50

# Declare Grid
grid = np.array([])

# populate grid with random on/off - more off than on
grid = randomGrid(N)

# set up the animation
fig, ax = plt.subplots()
fig.dpi = 200
img = ax.imshow(grid, interpolation='nearest')
# I changed the number of frames from 10 to 100 in the next line.
ani = animation.FuncAnimation(fig, update, fargs=(img, grid, N, ),
                            frames = 500,
                            interval = updateInterval,
                            save_count = 50)

# number of frames?
# set the output file
# I added the next two lines to get script to work.
#Writer = animation.writers['ffmpeg']
#writer = Writer(fps=15, metadata=dict(artist='Me'), bitrate=1800)

# Show the animation
#plt.show()

HTML(ani.to_jshtml())

Once Loop Reflect

HTML(ani.to_html5_video())